


A Celebration

by audreyslove



Series: Revival [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 21:25:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15715386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyslove/pseuds/audreyslove
Summary: For my friend @starscythe on her birthday!  Love you!This is Revival verse, when Roland first sees his dad.





	A Celebration

Today is a weird day.

 

Momma is gone when he gets up, and that’s not what she  _ does,  _ she is always there to dress him for school.

 

Uncle David is there, looking like he doesn’t know what to do, telling Roland that his mom had to leave early.  But Roland won’t stand for this, because Uncle David doesn’t even know how to pick the right clothes.

 

Roland tells him that, tells him that he needs his momma because he doesn’t know how to match colors.

 

And then Uncle David says that Roland doesn’t have to get dressed at all, because he’s not going to school.

 

“No school?” Roland asks, excitedly.

 

“And we can watch whatever movies you want!” Uncle David says.  He’s smiling, but it's a funny smile, and Roland doesn’t exactly like it.

 

Henry does not seem to like it either.

 

“Why aren’t we going to school?” Henry asks.  “Why aren’t  _ you  _ going to work?”

 

“I decided to take a snow day,” Uncle David says simply, shrugging his shoulders.

 

Roland runs to the window, excited to see the ground covered in snow…

 

But there is nothing.  There’s dirt with yellow green grass, everything looks so  _ boring.   _ He doesn’t understand, why isn’t there— 

 

“Uncle David it’s not snowing!”

 

“It’s not?” He runs to the window and looks out confused.  “Oh well, I think we will take a snow day anyway.  What do you think, we all skip school and just drink hot cocoa and watch tv, and I’ll make us pancakes?”

 

Roland wrinkles his nose.  Something funny is going on.  And besides… “You can’t make pancakes, only  _ momma  _ can make pancakes.”

 

“I can too!  I’ll show you!” he tickles Roland.  He shouldn’t like being tickled, everyone is supposed to hate it.  But he likes when Uncle David and Momma do it, for some reason.  He lets out a big laugh, and forgets how weird this morning is for a second.  Then David and says, “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”

 

Henry looks scared.  

 

“Mom’s going to be mad,” he grumbles.  “She  _ never  _ lets us skip school for no reason.”

 

“There’s a reason.  And mom has approved.  It’s a family day, just you me and Roland.”

 

“Oh.” Henry seems to understand then, but Roland does not.

 

“Why do we need a  _ family day  _ without momma?”

 

“Because mom and Uncle David are marrying, and mom wants us to spend time with him,” Henry explains.

 

But that doesn’t seem to make Uncle David feel good, his face screws up into a frown, and Roland is  _ sure  _ that is not what this day is about.

 

“What’s wrong?” Roland asks, tugging on his Uncle’s pajamas.

 

“Nothing, nothing, just trying to remember the recipe for pancakes.  Let’s get downstairs.”

 

Henry grumbles to Roland “Breakfast is going to be a  _ disaster.” _

 

.::.

 

The pancakes are weird shapes, but they still taste yummy, and David lets Roland pour as much syrup as he wants all over them.

 

David says no phones allowed to Henry.  He says no computer either.  He says it’s family day, they don’t use phones or computers to talk to people.

 

But Roland sees David has  _ his  _ phone right in his hand.  “I am a grown up, I need it for emergencies,” David explains.

 

And Roland doesn’t think that’s fair, but then there is hot chocolate, and Uncle David turns on The Lion King, and Roland stops trying to find out  _ why  _ he is acting funny.  Who cares why, when this day is so fun?

 

.::.

 

They start a puzzle and Uncle Davis even lets them play scavenger hunt, and watch movies all day.  When they are watching  _ Lemony Snicket _ , Momma comes home.

 

Roland is so excited to tell her about the no-snow snow day, but she doesn’t look as happy as he does.  Her eyes look red, and wet.

 

"But where were you?" Roland asks, suddenly worried that Momma was left behind.  “Why didn't you spend your not-snow-day with us?"   
  
"I had to take a trip," she says, but that doesn’t answer anything, does it? "Someone important needed my help. But we will talk about that later. I'm going to change into my pajamas and join you boys."

 

When she walks up the stairs, Uncle David follows.

 

“Something funny is going on,” Roland mutters out loud.

 

Henry looks upset, and answers, “Definitely.  Do you think mom and Uncle David are fighting?”

 

“No,” Roland says, “She doesn’t act like how she does when she’s mad.”

 

“Yeah,” Henry agrees.  “That’s what I thought.”

 

It takes forever for Uncle David to come back downstairs, but he won’t tell them anything that is going on.

 

“Your mom is talking to Grandma Rose,” David explains, his face as red as an apple, “she will be down afterwards, and we are going to have a talk.  But until then, let’s watch the rest of the movie, huh?”

 

Henry doesn’t want to watch a movie, he wants to see momma.  But David tells them to be good, to give her some space.

 

So they watch a bit more of the movie, until she is calling them over to the dining room.

 

“What I'm about to tell you is going to be confusing,” momma says, looking at Henry.  “I know you will have lots of questions.  But it turns out that your daddy never really died, he was just missing.  He was lost, and now he’s been found.”

 

No one talks for a moment, and Roland thinks he may be the only one who isn’t frozen, because momma and Henry don’t even seem to be  _ breathing. _

 

Well he still  _ can  _ breath so he’s going to use his breath and his voice until their’s comes back.

 

“But I thought you can’t come back to Earth after you go to Heaven,” Roland insists, “You said, you said I couldn’t wish for it for my birthday, because Daddy can’t come back since he’s in heaven.

 

That makes Momma sad, and he feels sorry right away. 

 

“Your daddy never  _ went  _ to heaven,” she says, but her voice is all jumpy, like it sounds when she talks about daddy sometimes.  Sometimes Roland hates talking about daddy, because he hates hearing her voice like this.  

 

“It was a mistake.” Momma says, and she doesn’t even wipe away the big tears rolling down her cheek.  We just thought he went to heaven, but he never did.”

 

Roland has to think on that, because it seems weird.  Until he thinks of the comic books Henry isn’t supposed to read to him, the ones they read under a blanket fort when they were both home sick last month, and something clicks.

 

“Like Wolverine?” Roland asks.  Because that comic just came out, Wolverine was alive the whole time!

 

“I… I’m not sure what happened with Wolverine,” Momma begins to say.  “But your daddy is alive, and he’s come back to see you.  He’s been trapped all this time, you see.  The bad guys told us he died, but he was alive the whole time.  They captured him and wouldn’t let him come back to us, or even call us.  He tried his best to get back, it just took a long time.”

 

“It’s kind of like Wolverine,” Henry explains.

 

“Cool!” Roland’s eyes grow big.

 

His daddy is like a superhero.  He always knew he was the best dad ever, always knew he was special.

 

And this makes him  _ extra _ -special.

 

Henry has lots of questions, but Roland can only think of how cool it will be to have a daddy who went on an adventure like the characters in his stories.

 

He doesn’t pay attention until Henry asks if he still loves them.  

 

“Of course he does,” Momma assures.  “Henry, he has loved you from the first moment he saw you, he adores you.  And Roland I know he can’t  _ wait  _ to meet you.”

 

The talk continues, and momma cries a few times, and Henry cries too.

 

Roland doesn’t understand.  Daddy is back, why is everyone crying?

 

Usually Momma cries when she talks about Daddy, and Uncle David and Henry say it’s because she  _ misses  _ him.  But she won’t have to do that anymore, so why is she sad?  And Henry, he always wanted their daddy back, why is  _ he  _ crying?  He should be happy!

 

At least when the talk is over, Henry seems happy.  Momma says they can make gifts for him, and Roland wants to draw a million pictures, so his daddy knows how much he loves him.

 

.::.

 

Roland is in his old house now.

 

It’s his favorite house.

 

He doesn’t say that to Uncle David, because Uncle David’s house is very nice and he really wanted Roland to like it.  But Nathan and Gretchen live down the street from  _ this  _ house, and his room still smells the same, instead of like new paint.  And there’s a tire swing in the yard that he always loved.

 

So he is happy in his old house.  Daddy will live here, he can’t live with Uncle David and Momma for some reason.  And Roland doesn’t know why they all can’t move here.  But Momma says it’s close, that his father  wants his own house.  Not all parents live together, Roland knows that.  But he still liked the idea of living with him.

 

It’s when he’s drawing pictures that he starts to worry about something.

 

Momma always cries when he talks about Daddy, and he doesn’t want her to cry.  So when she’s on the phone, Roland asks Henry.

 

“Does this mean Daddy was never watching us from heaven?” Roland asks, pretending the answer isn’t a big deal.

 

“Yeah,” Henry says, “Daddy wasn’t where we thought he was.”

 

“So he doesn’t even know what I look like,” Roland says, “or if I’m nice or not.  He doesn’t even know if he  _ likes me.” _

 

Henry just shakes his head and rolls his eyes, as if Roland said something really dumb.

 

_ “ _ That’s not how it works with moms and dads with their kids.  They love them right away.” 

 

Roland frowns. “You’re lucky.  Daddy already knows you.”

 

Henry shrugs, concentrating on his art.  “Remember mom always said he know you and loved you from when you were inside her belly?  That’s true.  He couldn’t see you yet, but he already knew he loved you.”

 

“I guess so,” Roland says.

 

“I know so.  And don’t talk to mom about it. She’s already nervous, you’ll just make it worse.  Just trust me.”

 

Henry knows more things than he does, so he wants to trust him.  

 

So he tries.

 

That night he has trouble sleeping.  He is excited and maybe something else that makes his stomach feel all somersaulty.  Roland has always been jealous that Henry remembers him but he never could.  He can hardly sleep thinking of what they will do and what he will say.  Whether he will be as proud as momma always says he is.

 

He hopes.

 

.::.

 

“I can’t believe dad will really be here!” Henry says, and he’s so  _ happy _ it makes Roland happy.

 

“What’s wrong with Momma?” Roland asks Henry, pointing to her as she runs around.  Momma has ants in her pants, is what Grandma Rose would say.  She keeps putting things in different places, touching them, and removing them.

 

“She hasn’t seen daddy in a long time, so she’s trying to make everything nice for him,” Henry explains.  “Like when Grandma comes to visit, except even more, because Dad’s been gone for so long.”

 

“Is she afraid he won’t like her anymore?” Roland asks.

 

“No, no,” Henry rushes to say, “that can’t be it.  She’s just… nervous.  And excited.  I am too, are you?”

 

“I’m….” Roland doesn’t know what he is, everything feels all swirly and tipsy.  “I think my tummy hurts.”

 

“You’re nervous too!” Henry explains, “That’s what nervous feels like.  Do you want to watch The Jungle Book?”  We can talk about what we’re going to say to Dad when he comes home.”

 

“The Jungle Book really!?!  But you said you were sick of that movie.”

 

“I can watch it one more time,” Henry shrugs.

 

After the movie, Roland’s tummy doesn’t hurt as much.

 

Henry gave him a plan.  When he sees his daddy, he will say “Hi, I’m Roland!” and run over to hug him.

 

And then he will tell him about every good thing he’s ever done, show him all his football tricks, all his coloring, and daddy will love him, just like Henry said.

 

Momma is decorating the house, and she lets Henry and Roland help.  

 

They hang his pictures on the house, and a big giant banner that he decorated with his favorite stickers.  

 

Everything is all ready.

 

And Roland thinks everything might just be fine.

 

But then he’s just laughing with Henry about stickers when the door opens, and it’s  _ him. _

 

It’s daddy.

 

Right there, so close.

 

It’s like seeing batman up and close.  Batman is  _ the best  _ but he’s so powerful he’s  _ scary. _

 

Everything feels more important now.

 

Roland’s seen pictures of him a million times, all the time, he sees videos, but it’s not the same.

 

His daddy is  _ right here, _ and he is walking, close enough to touch.  His voice is just a  _ little  _ different, the way he walks isn’t quite how he remembers, and he’s close, so close that it’s  _ scary,  _ somehow.

 

He’s next to him but Roland is so afraid to finally say speak to him for the first time.  

 

He hides behind his momma, peering out at him behind her legs to take a better look.

 

Henry is already hugging him, and Daddy is talking to him, telling him how much he loves him, and Roland is what Henry said he was.  Roland is _ nervous _ .

 

“What’s the matter darling?” Momma whispers as she scratches at his head, “It’s your daddy, and he loves you and wants to see you.  Don’t you want to give him your pictures?

 

“Maybe later,” Roland whispers back.  

 

"Roland," Daddy says, and it’s so weird to hear him say his name! "I've heard so much about you."   
  
Roland’s not ready.  He doesn’t know why.  He wants to be good for him, to show him how brave and strong he is, but all he can do is act like a baby.  He sucks on his thumb and tries to hide for a bit.

 

Maybe he can make himself braver after a few seconds...

 

"Come on Ro, say hi!" Henry calls.

 

But he can’t meet daddy like  _ this.   _

 

He’s not ready, and daddy is so  _ different.   _ He’s shorter than he thought, and skinnier, and his hair is a different color.  Everything is different, but the same, and he’s not sure…

 

Then Daddh walks over to him and bends down.

 

Momma bends down too, he can no longer hide between her legs as she spins around. "Roland, baby, this your father. Just like I told you. There's no need to be scared. Don't you recognize him from the videos?"

 

The video!

 

Daddy feels like less of a stranger when he thinks of all the things that are in the video.

 

Same smile, eyes the same color blue.

 

He likes pineapple and makes funny speeches, and sprays people with water and teaches Henry how to burp loud.

 

He’s not so scary.

 

"Hello Roland.  I'm your daddy. I am so sorry I didn't get to meet you sooner."   
  


Roland looks at him—  _ really  _ looks at him, and he can’t resist, he has to touch him, just to make sure he’s real.  He is, afterall, his face scrunches as Roland’s hand push and feel his eyes, his cheeks, his mouth.

 

His skin is a little rough, and there are crinkles and creases he doesn’t expect to feel.  There are two deep holes in his cheek that get bigger when he smiles.  Roland has them too, momma calls them his “dimples”.  She said she got them from daddy, and he guesses he did.

 

He didn’t get the funny voice, though.  He guesses voices don’t work like that. 

 

And then all the parts come together, and everything just fits.

 

His daddy.

 

"You talk just like you do in my video," he admits. And then, "You sound silly. Just like in the video."   
  
Daddy laughs then, and wants to know what video it is.  And Henry begs that they watch it together, so they do.

 

.::.

 

Roland keeps looking at him when he’s not paying attention.

 

_ It’s really him. _

 

He is snuggled up with his momma as Henry and daddy watch the video from the floor.  Momma is sad, like she always gets when they watch  _ this  _ part of the video (they should have skipped it like he asked).

 

But Roland really isn’t watching the video.

 

He’s watching his daddy. 

 

He likes the way his eyes almost shut when he smiles.  His teeth aren’t as white as they are on the video, but they are straight and he supposes that they are still nice.

 

The video is long and Roland loves it, but he tries to uses all that time getting used to seeing his daddy in person, instead.

 

Trying to see him without getting  _ scared. _

 

He’s not scary at all, he’s really nice.  Henry is leaning against him the way Henry sometimes leans against momma when they watch the video.  

 

His daddy must like hugs too.

 

Momma likes them, that’s why she’s hugging Roland and Grandma now.

 

His favorite part of the video is the picture of his daddy kissing his momma’s belly.  Roland was inside her then, he was really small, but he was really there, and his daddy was really there too.

 

The video ends, the screen goes blank, and Roland can’t see his daddy’s face anymore, it’s turned and tilted away from him..  

 

"That's it!" Roland shouts. "That's your video! Did you like it, daddy?"   
  
"I do,"Daddy says, his voice sounds a bit funny. "Who made this?"   
  


Roland doesn’t really know, actually.  He thinks his momma.  MaybeUncle David?  Before he can answer, Grandma does.

  
"Well, Regina of course. And John helped with the editing. But it was all her idea."   
  


“Thank you," Daddy says, his voice more like he’s heard on the video, this low, soft sound, "for giving the kids these memories, I—"   
  


His momma says it’s nothing, but Roland doesn’t understand.   
  
His grandma tells Daddy how they watch the video all the time and Roland is very proud.  Because they do, they always watch it.  That seems to make Daddy happy.

 

Then Henry says they should play soccer (football, the right word is football), and Daddy looks excited.

 

But Roland is not as good at football.  He  _ is  _ good at catch.  And he’s got a special glove.  And Daddy doesn’t know that.

 

“Can we please play catch first?  Please please please, Henry?” he asks. 

 

“Ok!” Henry smiles at him, “Mom did you bring the gloves?”

 

“Everything is in the hall closet,” she says, and Roland’s eyes light up as he and Henry rush towards the closet to get everything.

 

“This is  _ my  _ glove, daddy!” he says, putting it on.  “See, because I am left-handed!”

 

Daddy isn’t scary at all now.  He is smiling and looks at the glove really hard, like he’s really interested.

 

“Wow, this is a  _ very  _ special glove.  Left handed people can be great baseball players, Roland!  I’m so proud.  Do you know my dad was left-handed?” 

 

“Uh-huh I'm named after him  _ and  _ left handed like him!” Roland giggles. “Grandma tells me stories about him sometimes.”

 

They get to play baseball first.  Daddy says he’s really  _ impressed  _ by how Roland can throw, and that makes him happy.  He can catch really well, too, he shows Daddy that.  

 

Henry is really good at hitting, he goes up to bat and hits some balls really far.

 

And when one ball goes all the way to the porch, momma catches it, and daddy looks  _ really  _ proud.

 

By the time they switch to play football, Roland doesn’t even worry what Daddy thinks about his dribbling, or how many goals he can score.

 

Daddy teaches him things, runs drills with him.  He tells him he’s “out of shape”, but Roland still thinks he is pretty good.

 

He never met his daddy before today but it kind of feels like he’s been here all along, really.  He’s exactly like mom and Grandma said he was.

 

When Roland is able to kick a really fast,  _ almost _ _ perfect  _ (Daddy said!  Almost perfect!) pass, he can’t help but run over to him and give his dad a giant hug.

 

“Oh Roland,” Daddy says, lifting him and twirling him around.  “I’m so glad I get to see you.  You’re a real special boy.  So proud you are my son..”

 

“You’re a real special daddy,” Roland says back. 

 

That makes his daddy cry a little, but he tells him it’s okay, promises he said nothing wrong.

 

“Grown ups cry sometimes when they are really happy,” he explains.  “Now let’s keep playing a bit, yeah?”

 

They continue to play until momma calls them in for snacks.  By then Roland is tired but so  _ happy.   _

 

His momma and daddy are happy too, the way they look at one another, the way they smile.

 

His daddy is just as how he always knows he would be.

 

And they are a whole family now.

  
  


.::.

 

It’s years later when Roland can look back on that day and understand how complicated the emotions were of that day.  He sees all the parts his little mind missed.  His parents loved one another so much, shared a love for him and Henry, but they were hurting because mom had been trying to build a new life with David.  It was a hard day.  

 

He’s so glad they got through everything, though it was inevitable.  Even as a teenager, he can tell he has one of the happiest parents of all his friends.  They are strong people and seem to get through everything.  And they both sacrificed so much to keep their children happy that Roland barely noticed the obvious difficult adjustments that were made when his dad came back.

 

All he knows is family vacations and birthday parties and homework help, every baseball game they attended together, plenty of family traditions and lots of love.  He’s been really lucky, actually.  Sometimes he forget he spent the first years of his life without his dad.  he’s just such a part of his life he can barely remember how things were before.

 

“So it still counts as twenty years even though they spent almost five of those years apart?” Henry’s girlfriend asks as they decorate the room, the same room they decorated all those years ago.

 

It’s a surprise anniversary party.  20 years together.  And then they have a surprise gift for them, cleared with both their jobs — a cruise.  

 

His mom is probably going to argue that Annie is too young to be without her for a whole week, but she’s not at all, and their Grandma is going to help, so they will have to convince her to go.  At least they have a few months.  And they  _ really  _ deserve a vacation with just the two of them.

 

Henry shoots Violet a serious look.  “We don’t think of those as years as a break-up,” he explains.  “Just an obstacle.  They always loved one another, and they always wanted to be together, so it counts.  I mean it was really obvious how much they loved each other the moment dad got back.”

 

Roland thinks back to that day, now with a bit of age an perspective.  His memories are faded, but he remember thinks of that video mom always made them watch, the, baseball games and football practice with his dad for the first time, with mom watching and looking so proud.  And then the hug goodbye he still remembers seeing.

 

And Henry was right.  It was pretty obvious after all.

  
  
  



End file.
